The 2021 #ReadyToShare Holiday Campaign is in full swing, and we now have one fully funded cause! This cause raised funds specifically for Madam Joyce, a former schoolteacher in Uganda who recently went blind (read more here). These funds cover her needs and ensure that she is supported in an exceptionally vulnerable situation. Part of the funds will go to help cover the cost of a tutor for the year, someone who can teach her how to navigate life as a blind person.
The right fit: finding someone to tutor Madam Joyce in life without sight.
This week, our cooperatives in Uganda (Widow Care Manager Annette Lubega, and volunteers Lawrence and Josephine Ssemakula) went to visit a potential tutor for Joyce. Our immigrant and refugee program manager stateside, John Nyago, is himself an immigrant from Uganda. His aunt has been blind since her teens, and he encouraged our team to reach out to her and see if she’d be willing to assist Joyce. Lawrence writes about their visit to Nakiwolo Juliet.
Nakiwolo Juliet is a wife and mother of five children and grandmother to one. She got married in 1997 when she was already blind, and she is grateful to God that he gave her a husband who could take her into marriage the way she was.
Juliet is completely blind. She lost her sight in 1991 when she was 18 years old. She recalls while at a farm school pursuing her three-year certificate in animal veterinary, she started experiencing high blood pressure, and the major vessels in the brain that are responsible for sight were destroyed. Though she had finished two of the three years, she could not continue with her education and dropped out. She hoped one day she could receive medical attention that would recover her sight, but she lost hope when she realized she would have to be flown to Germany, knowing she would never have the funds to make that trip. She came to terms with her disability and began to seek counseling services. Over the years she has been able to overcome and manage life without sight.
Juliet is not just a generous friend, but an advocate for the Blind who loves God with her whole heart.
Juliet has been involved with a number of organizations that help the blind, and has even taken leadership roles at different levels. She was recently elected to represent the blind at a district level. The organizations have provided counseling services to her, and now she too can offer counseling services to those that need it. Such organizations include Sightsavers and Uganda National Association of the Blind (UNAB), among others. She has learned many skills and praises Jesus for all she has achieved, and for being her anchor in all situations. She can use a braille machine to write and can read braille as well. She was so excited telling us that she is even able to read a brailled Bible.
Juliet is very willing to help Joyce in all ways possible, even willing to visit her, encourage her, and let her see the possibilities beyond being blind. She noted that Joyce is still young enough to acquire the skills that can increase her independence.
Please rejoice with us and continue to pray for our efforts with Joyce and Juliet, and for the opportunity of a special relationship forming that can provide education, comfort, healing, and practical tools and resources.
We thank God and our generous donors that our first fully funded cause will do so much good for Madam Joyce. It’s our goal to raise $250k before December 31st in support of 11 more causes like this one - bringing water to a local school in Uganda, educating farmers, providing health care and health care education to those in need all around the world, and more. Will you join us in sharing with the vulnerable this holiday season?
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